China’s Literary Classics: The Four Great Novels

China is an ancient country with thousands of years of history, and in this long period of time produced numerous excellent literary works, “Journey to the west”, “Water Margin”, “The Romance of the Three Kingdoms” and“A dream of the red chamber” are among the most representative works. Today, these stories, which were born hundreds of years ago, are still circulating, not only affecting the cultural identity of the Chinese people, but also gradually becoming known and loved by more and more foreign readers. If you are interested in Chinese culture and classical Chinese literature, then the four classics are the best place to start. They will provide you with a window to glimpse into ancient Chinese society, people, and thoughts, and take you to fully explore the world of classic literature.

BER has been working to make art and culture accessible to more people through jigsaw puzzles. We have specially launched a series of jigsaw puzzles based on four masterpieces and have collaborated with renowned artist Dai Dunbang to make jigsaw puzzles of his magnificent and vivid paintings, using high quality materials and exquisite techniques. Each puzzle is not only a process of entertainment, but also a journey of encounter with Chinese literature and art. When you put the puzzle pieces together, it’s like touching those stories that have been passed down for centuries bit by bit, and feeling the characters’ joys and sorrows and the ups and downs of life again.

This article will guide you into the world of the Four Great Classical Novels, offering an introduction to their historical background and storylines. By gaining this context before reading, you will be able to appreciate the narratives more fully—and also enjoy a richer experience while piecing together the puzzles.

Journey to the West

Journey to the west is the first ancient romantic chapter-by-chapter novel about gods and demons written by Wu Cheng’en, a writer in the Ming Dynasty of China.

The work is based on the historical story of Xuanzang, a Buddhist monk from the Tang Dynasty, who traveled to India to obtain Buddhist scriptures. Journey to the West “combines folk legends and mythological elements to tell the story of Tang Monk, the reincarnation of the Golden Cicada, who was ordered by the emperor to go to the Western Heaven to obtain the true scriptures. Along the way, he gradually subdued three disciples, Sun Wukong, Zhu Bajie, and Sha Seng, and their mount, the White Dragon Horse, embarking on a long journey to the Western Heaven to obtain the scriptures. They experienced the eighty-one trials along the way, defeated demons and monsters such as the White Bone Demon, the Golden Horn and Silver Horn King, and the Spider Demon. They also passed the human nature tests and disasters of the Daughter Kingdom and the Bhikkhu Kingdom, fearlessly facing difficulties, and finally achieved enlightenment through the true scriptures.

Journey to the West overflows with fantasy, showcasing Wu Cheng’en’s wild imagination, while its wild tales hide his deeper hopes. Penned in the mid-Ming era, when Taoism was rotten to the core and hurting society badly, the author sneaks in jabs at it. Beyond that, the book pokes fun at crooked officials, dumb rulers, and fickle folks. It mixes Buddhist, Taoist, and Confucian vibes, pushing the idea of building character—using grit to beat greed, rage, stupidity, arrogance, and doubt, grinding through hardships to reach inner peace and growth.

The impact of Journey to the West in China is simply immense—it’s a massive cultural cornerstone. Over many centuries, the story has seeped into virtually every cultural domain: literature, opera, painting, games, film, television, and even local traditions. We’ve seen countless brilliant works created that build directly on this novel.

Hands down, the most famous and beloved adaptations have to be the 1961 animated classic, Havoc in Heaven (or Uproar in Heaven), the landmark 1986 TV series Journey to the West, and the 1999 animated show, also titled Journey to the West. Even today, China consistently releases new adaptations. It’s that enduring public affection that truly keeps this great work relevant and alive.

Journey to the west has had a wide influence not only in China, but also in other countries. It has been adapted many times in Japan and South Korea. For example, the Japanese TV series Journey to the West was released in 1978, and Dragon Ball , a manga based on Sun Wukong by Tokyama Akira, a modern Korean fantasy drama Flower Travelogue, released in 2017. Journey to the West has been adapted many times, not only in Asia, but also in the West. The British BBC produced a miniseries Journey to the West in 2007, and Hollywood has made several remakes of Journey to the West, the most recent being American Born Chinese, starring Daniel Wu.

For this reason, the story of Sun Wukong and the novel Journey to the West has become an important symbol of international cultural exchange and is increasingly regarded as an oriental classic with the same name as the hero of Greek mythology.

Romance of the Three Kingdoms

The Romance of the Three Kingdoms is a historical novel based on historical facts and slightly adapted by Ming dynasty writer Luo Guanzhong.

“The general trend of the world is that after long periods of division comes unification, and after long periods of unification comes division.” The opening chapter points out the background and pattern of the whole work. The novel is set in the period of the Three Kingdoms at the end of the Eastern Han dynasty; it tells about the political and military struggles among Cao Wei, Shu and Wu. The novel depicting classic battles such as the Yellow Turban uprising and the Battle of Red Cliff, and created Liu Bei, Zhang Fei, Guan Yu, Zhuge Liang, Zhou Yu, Cao Cao, Sun Quan, Sun Ce, LÜ Bu, Sima Yi and hundreds of other distinctive characters, these characters shaped the turbulent end of the Han Dynasty of that era, creating a legendary age of turbulence for posterity.

The Romance of the Three Kingdoms‘s influence on Chinese culture is so profound that it is almost a household name. Storytelling, opera, comic books, TV dramas, vedio games are constantly interpreting this classic. In 1994, China produced a TV drama called The Romance of the Three Kingdoms, it won wide acclaim for its magnificent scenes and faithful adaptation of the novel.

The Romance of the Three Kingdoms has been adapted into the anime San Guo Zhi (the history of the Three Kingdoms) , the manga Sangokushi (the history of the Three Kingdoms) and the vedio game Dynasty Warriors, it remains highly popular. The Romance of the Three Kingdoms has also been adapted in South Korea and the United States.

Dream of the Red Chamber

A dream of the red chamber is a classic novel by Cao Xueqin, the Qing dynasty writer. It is an encyclopedia of Chinese feudal society and a masterpiece of ancient Chinese fiction.

The novel is set against the backdrop of the rise and fall of the Jia, Shi, Wang and Xue families, the novel follows the love and marriage tragedies of Jia Baoyu, Lin Daiyu and Xue Baochai from the perspective of the noble young master Jia Baoyu, it depicts the life of some aristocratic women and shows the true beauty and tragedy of human nature. It is an epic work that shows the beauty of women and the various aspects of ancient Chinese society from all angles.

Dream of the Red Chamber reflects comprehensively and profoundly the characteristics of the times when the feudal society flourished and then declined. The novel depicts the tragedy of love and marriage among Jia Baoyu, Lin Daiyu and Xue Baochai. Through their tragic stories, it depicts the prosperity and decline of the four families, and focuses on the Jia family, using the household as a microcosm to criticize the darkness and evils of late feudal society, as well as the internal contradictions that were too serious to be overcome. The novel is also a forceful critic of the decadent feudal ruling class and the feudalism that was about to collapse, making the reader feel that it will inevitably lead to the fate of destruction. At the same time, the novel also expresses a new hazy ideal through the praise of the noble rebels.

Dream of the Red Chamber

The dream of the Red Chamber has a very high cultural status in China. It is not only an important object of literary research, but also gave rise to the special subject of“Redology”. It has been adapted into many art forms since the 20th century. The 1987 Chinese TV dramaThe dream of the Red Chamber, with its theme song and characters, remains deeply influential. Stage Plays, Beijing Opera, Kunqu Opera and other forms also continue to interpret this classic.

Outside China, The dream of the Red Chamber has been translated into English, French, Japanese, Russian and other languages since the end of the 19th century. Among all these different language versions, David Hawkes’s English translation of The Story of the Stone, is widely acclaimed in the West. In the 1980s, Japan produced a TV drama adaptation of The dream of the Red Chamber. Meanwhile, French and American academia have long studied this work, placing it alongside world literary masterpieces such as In Search of Lost Time and Anna Karenina. In recent years, it has even been adapted into a dance drama,The dream of the Red Chamber (2015, National Centre for the Performing Arts) , which has toured the world to great acclaim.

Water Margin

Water Margin was written by Shi Nai’an during the late Yuan and early Ming dynasties. Water Margin is the first Chinese novel written in the vernacular Chinese.

The novel tells the story of 108 heroes who gathered in Liangshan Marsh to rise up against social oppression during the Northern Song dynasty. They robbed the rich to help the poor, fought bravely against the corrupt government, and gradually grew stronger. The novel vividly depicts the heroic figures, such as “Timely rain” Song Jiang, “Black whirlwind” Li Kui, “Jade Unicorn” Lu Junyi, “Wise man” Wu Yong, “Leopard head” Lin Chong, “Flower Monk” Lu Zhishen, and”Runner” Wu Song, presenting readers with a world full of the spirit of “jianghu”.

Water Margin has always been loved by people in China — it’s been told and retold in storytelling, operas, and even turned into all kinds of films and TV shows. The 1998 Chinese TV series Water Margin is still probably the one most people remember. Stories like Wu Song slaying the tiger or the clever taking of the birthday gifts are still performed in Beijing opera and local theaters today.

People outside China started reading Water Margin back in the early 1900s, when it got translated into several languages like English, French, and German. One of the better-known versions came from the American writer Pearl S. Buck, who brought out All Men Are Brothers in 1933 and kind of opened the door for Western readers. Then in Japan, a TV drama called Suikoden aired in 1973 and turned into a big hit across Asia. Later on, South Korea made its own version in 2009, looking at the old story through a modern lens. These days, the heroes from Water Margin keep showing up in games and comics — they’ve become something like cultural icons from the East that people everywhere can recognize.